* The stage is located just East of the central plaza/fountain area of the park. Seating will be provided.

Here’s what happened last year at the inaugural 2011 festival!

[Banner by C. Cassano]

Hello everybody, just letting you know about the upcoming Washington Square Park Folk Festival. I got hired by the Parks Department to produce the first ever folk festival in Washington Square Park. Gonna be fun!

The festival is FREE and open to the public!

Its gonna be an excellent two days of music, with 9 of my very favorite groups (including my own) gracing the stage and myself on hand to serve as your MC. Hope to see you there!

2011 also marks the 50th anniversary of the 1961 “Washington Square Folk Music Riot” when the City tried to revoke the permit for folk musicians to play and sing on Sundays in the park. They needed to clear undesirable people out so that they could satisfy local real estate interests and I heard possibly enact a crazy plan to extend 5th ave. through the park! Luckily folkies resisted the attempt by the police to kick them out of their public space, resulting in the “riot,” and the planned extension of 5th ave never materialized. There’s been a film made about the “riot” and the film will be screened at the festival.

Hello everybody, just letting you know about the upcoming Washington Square Park Folk Festival. I got hired by the Parks Department to produce the first ever folk festival in Washington Square Park. Gonna be fun!

The festival is FREE and open to the public!

Its gonna be an excellent two days of music, with 9 of my very favorite groups (including my own) gracing the stage and myself on hand to serve as your MC. Hope to see you there!

2011 also marks the 50th anniversary of the 1961 “Washington Square Folk Music Riot” when the City tried to revoke the permit for folk musicians to play and sing on Sundays in the park. They needed to clear undesirable people out so that they could satisfy local real estate interests and I heard possibly enact a crazy plan to extend 5th ave. through the park! Luckily folkies resisted the attempt by the police to kick them out of their public space, resulting in the “riot,” and the planned extension of 5th ave never materialized. There’s been a film made about the “riot” and the film will be screened at the festival and is also posted below for convenient viewing…